THE new Land Rover Discovery has been five years in the planning but as we drove it off-road in deepest Perthshire, our thoughts were drawn to a different time.

The deepening gloom of a Scottish winter’s afternoon coupled with the towering and ancient pines enveloping us cast a spell that cut us adrift from the nearby A9 and the continuous thrum of traffic.

The Discovery had its lights on, as much for comfort as necessity, and it could have been another world as we ploughed on through the dark landscape in which Shakespeare partly set his brooding and tragic play, Macbeth.

As we dipped and rose through mud and rock, the terrain sodden and liquid after the rain, it would not have been a surprise had we rounded a bend to see three old crones under the trees in front of us stirring a pot and cackling over our future.

The 2017 Land Rover Discovery off-road in Perthshire (Image: Land Rover)

For the Discovery, it is already bright. No tragedies here, with Land Rover already clocking up 10,000 orders worldwide, 2000 of them in the UK, where it will not even go on sale until next February.

It is, says Kim Palmer, of Land Rover, their most capable vehicle yet, with all the features that Disco owners demand – but upgraded.

Our Disco was pre-production, which was why we could only drive it off-road on private land. Ripped untimely, but on this occasion from the end of the production line, and therefore, according to the prophecy from the old hags, destined for greatness.

It almost seemed a 21st century intruder in these centuries-old woods, yet it made them its own, pressing on through deep ruts, thick mud, steep slippery ascents and treacherous downward gradients, where the hill descent function automatically cut in and we inched down in perfect safety.

The 2017 Land Rover Discovery off-road in Perthshire (Image: Land Rover)

The new Discovery is 180kg lighter than its predecessor, stripped down to an immensely capable aluminium monocoque that has extreme flexibility, as we were to discover, with further strengthening at front and rear.

We raised the height of the chassis for our journey through the forest and put it into mud and ruts mode for greatest efficiency.

As we ploughed on, we did not need a cauldron, nor eye of newt, nor toe of frog to predict that this car would emerge unscathed and victorious, it just performed so well.

At one stage, we even forded a deep flood where the water came to 800mm – that’s over the sills. We remained watertight and watched on the screen as the level rose to just 100mm below the Discovery’s maximum wading depth.

But it was at the rock crawl that the Discovery really captivated us. A set of enormous stones on quite a steep incline, it was as though some ancient giant had come along and thrown his toys out of the pram. The massive rocks lay packed together but not smoothly.

My co-driver went first and slowly we crept down the stones until, at one point, we balanced only on two opposite tyres.

The other two were off the ground. That’s when Land Rover’s off-road guru, Ronnie Dale, decided to have some fun with us and rocked us from one side to the other, opening and closing the boot.

“No other car has this kind of flexibility,” he said. “They might get the boot open but they’d never close it again.”

For added measure, I opened the passenger door and stood balanced on the sills. The car did not budge.

Real road tests take place early next year for the Discovery but with these demanding off-road tests proving so successful, Land Rover seem to have a definite winner on their hands.

The 2017 Land Rover Discovery off-road in Perthshire (Image: Land Rover)

It comes with seven seats as standard and three different engines at launch, as well as the option of a double panoramic roof.

The boot space is marvellous and there is now just one hatched tailgate, although there is an electric powered inner tailgate on which you can sit – well, three rugby players can sit, because it will take up to 300kg.

Land Rover have now sold more than 1.2million Discovery SUVs across the globe and this new version is unlikely to damage those figures at all.

As we stepped out of the new Discovery, in the deepening gloom of the forest, I did wonder what someone like Macbeth would have made of this new mode of transport.

Would Shakespeare have had him amazed, ferocious or perhaps scheming to get his hands on one, as he cried: “A horse, a horse my kingdom for 340 horsepower.” But that is perhaps for another day and another play.